12.01.12 Brazil Focus January issue: Table of contents

SPOTLIGHT

• Rousseff presidency gets into full swing for 2012: Spending priorities for 2012; Concentrating decision making

POLITICS & SOCIETY

• A house divided: These tensions reflect in part a wider rift; Silva is herself a potential contender for the Presidency in 2014
• A turbulent Supreme Court: Game 1; Game 2; Game 3
• Politics in brief: Brasília full to brim; Buoyant Meirelles; Rousseff salutes the military

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT

• The hare and the tortoise: The new enterprise will not have any operational responsibilities beyond supervising
• Chevron saga continues: Barred from operating in Brazil
• The monopoly that wasn't: A number of IOCs share in the equity of certain projects
• Oil & gas in brief: Vale divestment; Braskem expansion
• Petrobras news: Sapinhoá, new pre-salt field; Light oil and gas find
• Environmental issues: Green stock exchange; Kyoto extension
• Bio-fuels in brief: Ethanol in Mozambique; US ethanol tariff expires

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• Great expectations for 2012: The trade surplus reached US$28 billion in 2011 but will decline to US$23 billion this year
• Government at a cross-roads: The government already admits, internally, that GDP growth will not reach the 5 per cent
• International outlook: It goes on to highlight the planned and actual actions of the advanced economies
• New investment trends: The services sector, which comprises commerce and infrastructure, employs 25 million people
• Economy in brief: Moving up the ranks; Bonds get big welcome; Industrial growth lags

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

• The frontiers of foreign trade: Brazil's foreign trade accounts for only 20 per cent of GDP
• A pragmatic diplomacy: The diplomacy of Rousseff's government is predominantly economic
• Mercosul summit: The summit also approved a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority
• The Bolivian threat: The Brazilian Federal Police monitors Bolivian drug trade
• The travel itinerary: Attendance at G-20, IBSA, and Mercosul summits is likewise being considered
• Diplomatic briefs: Road construction halted; Bank of the South progresses
• International trade: Foreign trade balance; Stimulating manufacture exports.